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Stephen Lawrence, public relations consultant

Stephen Lawrence, 91, of Chestnut Hill, a retired public relations consultant, died Sept. 26 of cancer at the Springfield Rehabilitation Center in Wyndmoor.

Mr. Lawrence had operated his own public relations consulting firm, Stephen Lawrence Associates, from 1991 to 2002. Earlier he had been a marketing and communications executive for 34 years with the Insurance Co. of North America (INA), which later became a part of Cigna.

He was a past president of the Public Relations Society of America and of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association. He was inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows in 1991.

Mr. Lawrence also had been an English teacher and basketball coach at several secondary schools and colleges in the area.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was a graduate of Adelphi Academy. He received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a master’s degree in English from Middlebury College.

During World War II, he served as a lieutenant in the Navy aboard the destroyer Macomb.

Mr. Lawrence had been a board member of Friends of the Wissahickon and chair of its wildlife committee. An avid bird-watcher, he had a life list of 600 U.S. Species gathered from his visits to 49 states.

He also was a member of the Delaware Valley Onithological Club, the Wyncote Chapter of the Audubon Society and the American Birding Association.

Mr. Lawrence’s wife died in 2004.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at the chapel at Springfield Residences, 551 E. Evergreen Ave., Wyndmoor. – WF